((I originally posted this on another site but I thought I'd post it here as well.))

This…this isn't possible.

Shiyra Viella stared at the bodies that littered the floor of the Ebon Hawk and bent down to inspect the one closest to her. The body was that of a blue-skinned twi'lek with two blaster wounds and a shocked expression on her face. Laying next to her was the body of a wookiee with a vibrosword clenched tightly in his hand and a lightsaber wound across his stomach. The scent of death was everywhere throughout the ship and there were signs of battle everywhere she looked. Even as she attempted to reach out through the force she could feel that something was…managing to escape her. She could barely sense life aboard the ship.

But there was definitely something still alive on the Ebon Hawk.

Her hand went down to her lightsaber which was hooked to her belt and made sure it was still there just in case she needed it. Shiyra took one last look at the bodies of the wookiee and the twi'lek and closed the twi'lek's eyes before turning toward the cargo hold and cautiously walking in. The moment she entered the hold her eyes widened in surprise. There were more bodies here in the hold. One of them was an old bald man with a deactivated lightsaber in his hand who was laying on his stomach with a lightsaber wound in his back, the next was a man wearing an orange flight jacket with two blasters on the floor next to him and the third was a cathar wearing jedi robes who looked as if she had been slammed against the wall of the hold with enough force to make a sizable imprint in the wall before sliding to the floor in a heap.

Who are all of you? And what did you do to deserve death?

Shiyra a faint beeping sound coming from behind her. Her lightsaber flew to her hand as she quickly turned around and brought her lightsaber into a defensive stance but deactivated it when she saw what it was that had made the noise.

It looked as if the pile of scraps that was making the sound could have once been a droid but it looked as if someone had taken a lightsaber to it and sliced it apart. Shiyra bent down and took a look at the droid and then noticed a single word flashing on what was left of the droid's head. A single word that in its simplicity caused a chill to run through her body.

Beware…Beware…Beware…Beware…Beware.

Shiyra was still examining the droid when she saw a slight spark out of the corner of her eyes and she instantly turned around and ignited her lightsaber once again but then deactivated it when she saw what had made the noise.

Another droid. This one looked like it had once been a humanoid shaped droid but like the other droid it looked as if someone had taken a lightsaber to this one. The closer she looked at the droid the more familiar it looked. She grabbed what was left of the head and took a closer look at it and then nearly dropped it as the identity of the droid came to her.

HK-47…And that must mean…

Shiyra took a look at the other droid which had been sliced apart and tried to imagine what the droid would look like it was still in one piece. The answer came to her after a moment's thought.

T3-M4! Who could have done this…and who were these people? What did they do to deserve death? What do all of them have in common?

Shiyra looked down at HK's head and noticed a small spark coming from the droid's head. She gently turned the head around and looked at the wires that were sticking out of the head. That spark may mean that there must be some power running through what's left of the droid.

Shiyra put two of the wires together and suddenly the droid's eyes lit up. She then took a yellow wire and connected it into one of the ports inside HK's head. She heard a slight humming sound as what was left of the droid powered up.

"Statement: Beware."

The droid's eyes flashed once and then went dark as the sparks vanished and what was left of the droid's power ran out. Shiyra gently set HK's head on the floor next to his body. She walked past the bodies and headed for the starboard dormitory. After a short walk she walked into the dormitory and stopped dead in her tracks.

Another body.

This one she instantly recognized. Canderous…What did you have in common with these people? Why did you die with the others?

Shiyra was just about to examine the body to see what had happened to it when she heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber igniting behind her. She whirled around and ignited her lightsaber just in time to block a swipe that would have taken her head off had she not blocked. She force jumped over the mysterious assailant who made no further moves and studied her opponent.

Black robes…red lightsaber and a hood that obscures the face…now who could this be?

"Who are you?"

No response.

"What have you done to the crew? Who were these people and why did you kill them?"

"They were threats to your power." The mysterious attacker said simply. Shiyra took a step backward in surprise, the voice was very familiar…in fact if she didn't know better she would have sworn it was her own voice.

The mysterious attacker took slow, steady steps forward. "Peace is a lie there is only passion." The attacker said confidently. "Through passion I gain strength, through strength I gain power, through power I gain victory, through victory my chains are broken, the force shall set me free."

Shiyra continued backing up. "Who are these people? I demand an answer!"

The attacker stopped. "The former companions of Revan are a threat to those who study the techniques of the darkside, by themselves they are not a threat but together they are capable of destroying you."

Shiyra smirked. "At one point I thought of the darkside as the path that led to true power, but I was wrong. I faced the jedi council and accepted their judgment and since then I have not wavered from the path of the light. I will not waver, ever again."

The attacker threw back it's hood and Shiyra stared dumfounded at the now unmasked attacker.

"A part of you still hungers for the power of the darkside." The attacker that looked almost identical to Shiyra retorted. "You can lie to the others, you can lie to the jedi but you cannot lie to yourself."

The figure raised its hand and various dark shadows began to form behind the dark version of Shiyra. The shadows quickly took on the shapes of her various companions. But they looked…wrong. They looked as if they had been corrupted by the darkside. The dark Shiyra smirked as the corrupted companions walked toward Shiyra.

"You can't lie to us. I've seen what you do to your enemies, you are already on the path of the darkside." Brianna the handmaiden said as she ignited her violet lightsaber and moved into an attack stance. The handmaiden's outfit was black and her eyes were yellow.

The corrupted forms of Visas and the Disciple ignited their own lightsabers and circled her. "Everywhere you go you bring violence and death in your wake. Even with the best intentions you bring nothing but conflict and battle."

Shiyra's eyes widened as they both brought their lightsabers down on her and she barely managed to block the attack. The two dark entities stepped back as the dark Shiyra stepped forward and reignited her lightsaber. Shiyra barely managed to block the strike before the dark Shiyra swept at her legs and managed to strike her legs with her lightsaber. Shiyra went down on her legs in pain.

"Give into the darkside," The dark Shiyra said calmly as she effortlessly blocked a strike from Shiyra who was attempting to protect herself while trying to get back to her feet. "I won't turn to the darkside! I nearly fell to the darkside during the Mandalorian Wars."

The dark Shiyra smiled. "And yet I exist. I am the part of you that hungers for the darkside, that sees what kind of power you could have."

Shiyra watched helplessly as the dark reflection's red saber came down. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.

And waited.

She slowly opened her eyes and looked up and saw a green lightsaber blade blocking the dark Shiyra's blade. Shiyra turned and slowly looked up to see another hooded figure. This one was wearing brown jedi robes. The dark Shiyra looked at the second hooded figure with an expression of pure rage on her face. She brought her lightsaber up and attempted to strike the second hooded figure only to be blasted backward by a powerful force push.

"Who are you?" the dark Shiyra shouted at the hooded figure who then threw it's hood back.

"Oh you know me." Atton Rand said as he ripped the hood off the back of his robes and tossed it to the ground. "I like to think of myself as the dashing hero, I'm here to defeat the bad guy, save the girl and win her heart. But before I do that I'm going to need to have a word with the exile here."

Atton leaned down next to Shiyra and smiled. "Get up…you need to get up. Remember the jedi code Shiyra. Right now you need to remember the code.

Shiyra unsteadily got to her feet and began to repeat the code that had been taught to her back during her days back on the academy on dantooine.

"There is no emotion," Shiyra said quietly as she managed to get to her feet and began to advance toward her dark counterpart. "There is peace, there is no ignorance there is knowledge, there is no passion there is serenity, there is no chaos there is harmony, there is no death there is the force."

"Remember…A small part of you may hunger for the darkside but a larger part of you believes in the jedi code and helping others."

The vision of Atton smiled once and the vanished as the dark version of Shiyra got to her feet and snarled at her and raised her lightsaber only to have Shiyra easily dodge it and bring her lightsaber up. The dark Shiyra was barely able to block the attack and was thus unprepared when Shiyra unleashed a massive force that sent the dark apparition flying backward. The shadowy dark versions of her companions disappeared as the wave hit them. Before the dark Shiyra could get to her feet, Shiyra managed to force jump directly above her dark counterpart and impale the dark version of herself with her silver lightsaber.

The dark version of her began to shift and began to vanish as though she was being blown away by the wind. But before it vanished entirely it looked her directly in the eyes.

"Remember…you may have defeated me here. But I will always remain. There will always be a part of you that hungers for the darkside. And when you least expect it I will return."

Shiyra smiled. "You should remember…my friends will always be here to help me."

A bright flash lit the hawk and then Shiyra knew nothing.

EBON HAWK

Shiyra's eyes suddenly popped open as she awoke from the meditative trance that she was in. It was funny…she barely remembered beginning her meditation. But the memory of what she had gone through was still fresh in her mind. She turned toward the entrance of the cargo hold as she sensed someone approaching.

"You alright?" Atton Ran asked as he walked into the cargo hold. "I was sleeping in the cockpit and I could feel your distress through the force and thought you might need someone to talk to."

"I-It's nothing. I had some sort of vision while meditating…a very disturbing vision. It probably just has something to do with us recently leaving Korriban. I'll be fine."

"Alright, well…let me know if you need anything."

"Atton wait…"

The smuggler turned around just in time to receive a kiss on the cheek from the exile who then ran past him toward the cockpit. Atton simply stood there, dumfounded, wondering what he had done to receive the kiss.

The_Catto

02-19-2011 10:59 PM

I like it!
A little confused about some things but that is only because its the first chapter. I want/need more! More, more, more!!!
:D

ps: zOMG! Chev! How the hell are you!?!?!?
Long time, no see!

JediMaster12

02-21-2011 11:56 AM

An interesting perspective about the Exile and how she saw what Revan did to her companions during the Star Forge quest. There was some slight confusion at the beginning. A writer's tool I suggest is to use the italics and write something like "The Ebon Hawk, Five Years Ago." It sets up the setting of the story and since you have that twist at the end where it is a meditation vision, it just makes it more enticing and wondering about what is going on.

It is a very good piece and I encourage a possible second companion piece.